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This is RIDUCULOUS, help please

i am currently recovering from bulimia and have been trying to eat healthy, not starve while not eating to0 much. this is what i ate today, and i am wondering why i am hungry all the time, because it's getting ridiculous, so if you could give any input, it would be appreciated.

 

Breakfast 7am-2 low fat poptarts, large granny smith apple, K2o protein water  

Lunch 12:30pm-2 slices double fiber bread, romaine lettuce, mustard, and 6 turkey slices, handful of baby carrots, 3 cups of brocolli with ketchup, k2o protein water

 Snack 2pm-handful of baby carrots, 2 100 cal tortillas with 1 TBSP of pb on each

Snack 4pm-1 1/2 cups of a healthier "honey comb" type cereal with 1 cup light soy milk

 and im stilll hungry, WHATS THE DEAL?!? i must have eaten 1500 cals already before dinner!!

im on birth control and i heard that causes an increase in appetite but ive been on it for 3 months now. if any one can tell me how i can improve my snacks, or make my meals more filling, please tell me.

also i know that these all werent the healthiest choices, but i wasnt at my house. i know i could have use real peanut butter, whole grain tortillas, non sugary cereal, etc

You are eating almost all your calories as simple carbs.  As you have discovered, simple carbs do not leave you feeling full for very long.  You need to replace out most of these carbs with a lot more protein, healthy fats and complex carbs or you will always be starving.  Drop the pop tarts, tortillas and the honey comb cereal and replace them with high fiber, high protein foods.

ditto!

more protein and complex carbs. try oatmeal, nuts, granola, grilled chicken, etc. that should help considerably.

good luck!

Try eating more meats, like steak and try having something whole like pasta. i know its higher up there in calories but if you eat early in the day these foods will hold you longer than veggies and pop tarts. i have also found that drinking two large glasses of water before any meal after breakfast helps. then if you get the munchies have some trail mix w/ almonds and nuts, (i love the m&m kind) these are things i do for myself and they worked. i used to struggle to eat under 2000 calories, now i have to force myself to eat up to 1200.

I wouldn't worry too much about it.  I think everyone has days where they feel like they are starving all day.  For me it especially happens when I have a really hard workout. 

I have found that if I have quite a bit of protein, either a  protein shake or a protein bar and a liter bottle of water, it pretty much squashes my hunger pangs for a couple of hours.

Some other good snacks that I eat a lot are sugar snap peas from Costco or the Edamame Soy Beans.  They add a lot of fiber and protein that help you feel full for a long period of time.  Plus, when I am eating the soy beans, I have to individually peel them, so it takes me a long time to eat a bowl full.

ohh thank you for the responses, you are all probably right, wayyy too many carbs!

i dont usually eat poptarts though haha..but i should probably get a lott more protein with meat and what not and have a protein shake in the morning or something..

 

well you have a huge 5 and a half hour gap between breakfast and lunch... that would do it for me. You should try to eat something every 3 to 4 hours depending on how hungry you are. If you do eat every 3 hours or so, you most likely WILL be hungry the next 3 hours.

Try to eat something in that gap... I usually snack on cereal throughout the day like raisin bran and stuff.

I hope I helped :) 

I agree with the others... that food you ate was VERY low in protein and also had almost no fat - eating lots of veggies is great, but adding protein and fat help to make you feel fuller for longer because they take longer to digest. Simple carbs (like the poptarts) won't hold you for more than a few hours before you'll be starving again.

hey, i agree with patches completely. Drop the amount of bad carbs. Your body only absorbs so much of a food in one sitting before it turns it into sugar in your blood stream and becomes fat. Even Protein in excess at a meal can become fat if your body doesn't need to absorb all you've eaten.

i'm not the best at explaining this, but i do know that when you eat excessive carbs, especially the simple carbs, they turn into sugar in your blood stream. You'll get excess energy rush, then after the energy rush is gone, your energy levels drop as your sugar levels plummet and that leaves you feeling groggy. So your body tells you that you are hungry again, when actually you really should not be.

Definitely pitch the tortilla shells and pop tarts for low carb breads, high fiber foods and Protein. Fibre cereals are not that bad. I suggest having your fruit later in the day too, as fruit tends to be high in natural sugars. If you're like me, sugars tend to make me crave more food. Eat more proteins. as snacks to curb your appetite. i like sliced chicken rolled up with swiss cheese (no crackers or bread) as a snack. i don't feel hungry at all after some of that.

Try peanut butter on low carb crackers, or low carb bread, oatmeal, brown rice and remember to keep your portions of meals small to boost your metabolism.

Your lunch was good but you need a bigger breakfast. Also lots of calories doesn't always = filling ;)

and yeah more protein will help, I don't get people who can quote "fill up on veggies", I could stuff myself with veggies until I'm sick of them and still not feel that 'full/satisfied' feeling, then just feel hungry again in 30min.  

Increase your fiber intake--fiber (and protein) help you feel more satiated than carbs do...also, try drinking 16 oz. of water before your meals. Since I've cut my portions, I'm sometimes hungry when I finish a meal, so I drink lots of water at the end of my meal to give me that full feeling...and water is good for you anyhow! :o)

don't eat poptarts!  They have like zero nutritional value.  Try oatmeal or high fiber cereal with skim milk.  Or eggs

I'd be interested to know what you eat when you're at your house eating the things you'd normally eat in a day.  The daily log you listed is woefully low on nutrition and, as others have pointed out, full of simple carbohydrates.

Let me stop and just say this: CARBS ARE NOT BAD!  Do not aim to decrease your intake of "carbs."  Aim, instead, to only consume complex carbohydrates and increase your consumption of them.

What you're lacking on big time is veggies.  Yes, 3 cups of broccoli is great, but other than that you had a handful of carrots and a small amount of romaine on your sandwich.  Eat lots of veggies first, then eat a bunch of fruits, add in some grains, beans, nuts, and seeds.  Then go for lean meats if you so choose (and if you've got the room!), fish is a great choice.  Shoot for variety in your plant foods to get the most nutrition.

If you're getting most of your calories from veggies and fruits, you won't feel full.  You won't have a long enough break between grazing all day long to feel hungry ;-)   

When I went off birth control I wasn't as hungry and felt full faster when I ate.  Birth control works because it tricks your body into thinking it's pregant.  So your body feels more hungry because it thinks it needs to take in more calories.

yup i'm with everyone else, more protein and veggies... and a better breakfast but it looks like you knew that :P

 i've been on 4 different bcps and they all affected me differently, on one of them i was ALWAYS STARVING on.  didn't matter what i ate, an hour later, starving.  i've since switched and i'm back to normal now (just trying to lose all that weight i gained!) i know it wasn't in my head bc it was only one of the pills.  so if it keeps up, and you change your eating habits, don't hesitate to try a different bcp.  but start by adjusting the diet first.  i noticed that when i switched out carbs for more veggies and proteins i am much less hungry. just don't eliminate carbs- eat whole grain/whole wheat stuff whenever possible.

 

Hi,

I am a recovering bulimic as well. I am 23 years old and have allowed myself to suffer for 7 years now. I have to say that kicking the habit is the hardest thing you will go through in your life, I think. My suggestions to attempt to kick the habit physcially is getting rid of the trigger foods. I'm sure you know that already.I eat Fiber One in the morning because it has like 9 grams of fiber and I compliment the cereal with a bowl of fruit. You need to ensure you have plenty of fiber to keep you full. Try adding Fiber Sure to your diet.  You really should try to reevaluate your diet. You are the only one that knows your trigger foods. Trying to have them in moderation is just setting yourself up for failure. Get rid of them and stay away from them until you are mentally able to deal with them. I don't go out to eat because I will be tempted to binge. I do not eat ice cream, cookies, are cheetos... These are my trigger foods. You must gain the mental strength before you can seriously get over bulimia. You can't do it in a day and you must learn that control of calorie intake is not all important compared to getting back to a normal eating habit and learning to enjoy food. If you are more worried about calorie consumption and not worried about being able to eat food without having that constant nagging voice in the back of your mind you will never recover. this is a battle that you have to face on your own. Hard to say but it is only going to come from you. work on it everyday. This will be with you forever. You must fight it, work at it. You can do it!

eat foods that rank high on the satiety index:

http://www.diabetesnet.com/diabetes_food_diet /satiety_index.php ;

these tend to be whole grains (whole wheat bread, brown rice, brown pasta, oatmeal), legumes, fish, and fruits.

and ditto about the eating every 3-4 hours. also, thirst can sometimes mask itself as hunger. so whenever im hungry i try to drink a cup of water first and THEN see if im still hungry. 

 

good luck! 

Awww hun.... I've totally been there!!! It sucks doesn't it...But there's definitely a way to fix it!!! Trust me, once you change the foods you eat, you'll be feeling like a totally different person and it'll surely give you a fighting chance in your recovery!!!!

The above posts are totally correct - Too many carbs.

Too many carbs = blood sugar spikes = drastic drops in blood sugar = FALSE SIGNALS OF HUNGER!

It's all about the types of foods you eat, when you eat them and how you combine them. In recovery, I went through the exact same thing. Things changed a lot for me when I upped my protein, totally reduced carbs(only got carbs from fruits/veggies/nuts/seeds) and upped my intake of good-fats. Cutting out breads + cereals(of which I ate the extremely high-fiber variety) seemed to help me a LOT. The result was total satiety and I felt so in control of my hunger.

Foods like avocado, seeds, nuts, eggs, meats, and some cheese and yogurt will help you in this endeavour! And you can get your carbs + fibre from berries and veggies like carrots, broccoli....All veggies are good though...Seeds like flax and pumpkin seeds and nuts like cashews and almonds are awesome...

I totally swear by the glycemic index, and agree with the above post the satiety index will help quite a lot.

Trust me, once you start eating this way...You'll feel 100 times better. If you need any support don't hesitate to send me a message!!!!

Take Care + Be Well!

~Jaya

dude, i eat a whole box of honeycombs like everyother day cuz i love them so much and im underweight.

i really dont think it matters as long as you balance it out with your other meals.

i do exactly what someone else said... just snack on cereal throughout the day in between meals. its kinda my safety food i guess. but it really hasnt made me gain weight or anything.and i gain and lose weight pretty easily.

Original Post by feadyerhead:

dude, i eat a whole box of honeycombs like everyother day cuz i love them so much and im underweight.

 If you're underwight why are you trying to lose? O_O

You are at such serious risk I would feel guilty and wrong giving you any advice because I am honestly worried that anything I tell you will shock your body so much you will die. You are at risk of just keeling over and DYING. Your BMI is the equivilent of a SMALL CHILD.

You should not be attempting refeeding without professional supervision no matter how much confidence you have in yourself to recover alone it is just not an option for you. Even just a small increase in calories could traumatise your system and cause you to keel over at how low a weight you are. I know you have mentioned not having insurance but you have been given links to resources that tell you where you can go to get treatment without paying and I will link them again: ANRED, with a list of ways to get help and treatment while without insurance, or Treatment: How Will I Pay?

CC cannot help you. I cannot help you. No one on the internet can help you. Only you can help you right now and that means getting up, out of your house, and going to the ER.